As part of the Phenomenology Lecture Series, Dr. Adam Konopka will present a paper entitled “Disgust as a Moral and Instinctual Phenomenon” on Thursday, February 21, at 4:00 p.m. in 2305 Centennial Hall. Dr. Konopka is an assistant professor in the Department of General Studies and Philosophy at the College of Mount Saint Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Fordham University, where he was twice awarded the Teaching Fellow of the Year (2006-2007, 2007-2008).

Professor Konopka’s research is broadly informed by 20th century continental philosophy and is focused on a phenomenological development of environmental philosophy. He has published articles in several peer-reviewed journals and is currently writing a book on environmental virtue ethics.

Effective immediately, all eligible students can begin to apply for scholarships. The philosophy department has two scholarships: the David Lee Miller Scholarship for Creativity in Philosophy and the Maly-Miller Phenomenology-Metaparadigm Vibrant Non-Being Haiku Scholarship. Follow this link for details on these and other UW-L scholarships. Deadline for applications is 2/16/2013https://uwlax.academicworks.com/

The PHL 496 students will present their capstone projects on Tues, Dec 11, from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m., in 3101 Centennial Hall. All philosophy majors/minors are encouraged to attend this important event in the lives of their peers.

As part of the “CLS Celebration of Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors,” Dr. Ross will present “Pondering Propaganda (and other matters) at Cambridge University,” Friday, November 30th from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. in the Ward Room, Cartwright Center.

Before her high school social studies class on Friday, 16-year-old Demaleena Long wasn’t sure about voting. ”There’s so many people in the world,” she said, “and then there’s me. It’s not like my vote would be the deciding vote for somebody. I didn’t think it mattered.”

Less than half of eligible Hawaii residents voted in the 2008 election. But when I visited teacher Jason Duncan’s open-window classroom at Mililani High School, I learned it doesn’t always have to be that way. Duncan’s students debate policy issues, talk about candidates, discuss the voting process and, with the help of a group called Kids Voting Hawaii, practice an online version of the voting process, so they’ll know what to expect at the polls.

In short, he’s trying to use education to kill voter apathy.

“As a social studies teacher, one of my responsibilities is to create an informed citizenry,” he said.

Friday’s classroom discussion on women’s suffrage and on why so few Hawaii residents vote piqued Long’s interest. She listened as her classmates spoke passionately about their opposition to healthcare, their support of conservation, their anger about traffic in Honolulu and their concerns about “overpopulation.” (Boy in white T-shirt: “If you go to Sandy Beach and catch a wave, there’s 10 other people on that same wave!”)

They also chimed in with at least a dozen reasons people in Hawaii don’t vote: laziness, apathy, lack of education, disillusionment with the process, feelings of helplessness and a general disdain for the negativity of he-said-she-said of partisan politics.

Long came away from the discussion believing those are hurdles that can and should be overcome. “After listening,” she said, “it makes me realize voting is really important.”

Maybe the next generation of Hawaii voters will see it that way, too.

Help us bring change to places and issues that need it most. Our current effort: Bumping Hawaii off the bottom of the United States voter turnout list. This CNN experiment is led by John D. Sutter.